1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of treatment of neoplastic disease. More specifically, the present invention relates to novel immunoconjugates and their use in the treatment of neoplastic disease. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to novel immunoconjugates cytotoxic to leukemia cells characterized by expression of the CD33 antigen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Neoplastic disease is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the Western World. All neoplastic diseases or xe2x80x9ccancersxe2x80x9d share at least one characteristic, i.e., the involvement of defects in the cellular growth regulatory process. Antigens located on the surface of cancer cells have been useful in distinguishing lymphoid from non-lymphoid leukemias, subtyping of acute myelogenous leukemia, predicting therapeutic outcome and in therapy in vivo or via a bone marrow purging ex vivo. Antigens defining acute non-lymphocytic cells also identify normal hematopoietic cells during early stages of their development.
CD33 provides a useful target antigen for therapy of myelogenous leukemias, as it is expressed in the cell-surface of more than 80% of leukemic isolates from patients with myeloid leukemia with an average density of 10,000 sites/cell. In addition, rapid internalization occurs upon binding of mAb to CD33 both in vitro and in vivo. CD33 antigen is a 67 kilodalton glycoprotein found on normal colony forming unit granulocyte-monocyte (CFU-GM), on a fraction of burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E and CFU-granulocyte, erythroid, monocyte, megakaryocyte) CFU-GEMM, and absent from normal pluripotent stem cells.
Antibodies are proteins normally produced by the immune system of an animal in response to antigenic determinants. Antibodies bind to the specific antigen to which they are directed. The development of specific monoclonal antibodies has provided investigators with a possible means of selectively targeting chemotherapeutic agents to cells which overexpress tumor associated antigens.
Immunotoxins are hybrid molecules consisting of a monoclonal antibody covalently linked or genetically fused to a toxin molecule and are thus able to direct potent cytotoxicity to particular cells. Immunotoxins have several possible advantages over conventional anti-neoplastic agents including selectivity for tumor cells and potential delivery of extremely potent toxins. However, obstacles to effective therapeutic use of immunotoxins for cancer include (a) lack of suitable tumor-specific targets that are not also found on other vital non-tumor cells; (b) loss of toxin potency or mAb activity after conjugation; (c) unwanted cytotoxicity to nontarget cells and tissues resulting from nonspecific internalization of the immunotoxin; (d) immunogenicity of the immunotoxin; and (e) pharmacological inability to target tumor sites adequately.
Currently, no immunotoxin exists that meet the above-mentioned criteria for an effective immunotoxin to treat acute non-lymphoid leukemic cells and acute myelogenous leukemic cells. Thus, there continues to exist a great need and desire in this art for compounds and methods of selectively killing leukemia cells. The present invention fulfills this long-standing need and desire in the art.
The present invention provides a composition comprising a conjugate of an antigen binding region exhibiting binding specificity for the CD33 protein and gelonin, a cell growth modulator derived from plants. Such a composition acts as an immunotoxin to specifically kill tumor cells characterized by the expression of the CD33 protein.
Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a composition comprising a conjugate of an antigen binding region exhibiting binding specificity for the CD33 protein and gelonin or recombinant gelonin or fragments thereof.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of treating neoplastic disease comprising the administration of a cytocidally effective dose of an immunotoxin of the present invention to an individual in need of such treatment.
And yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of killing tumor cells in bone marrow comprising removing bone marrow from an individual having a neoplastic disease, treating the bone marrow with a composition of the present invention and infusing the treated bone marrow back into the individual. In another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a method of preventing recurrence of neoplastic disease where the disease is characterized by an expression of CD33 protein. The recurrence is prevented by administration of a cytocidally effective treatment of immunotoxins of the present invention.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a new composition of matter comprising a fusion protein formed by the fusion of the CD33 antigen binding region and gelonin or recombinant gelonin or fragments thereof.
In further embodiments of the present invention there are provided methods of extending the survival time of a mammal bearing tumor by administration of the immunotoxin of the present invention to this mammal. In yet further embodiments, there are provided a method of retarding the rate of growth of tumors by administering the immunotoxin of the present invention. Still further, there is provided a pharmaceutical composition comprising an immunotoxin of the present invention.